Personal watercraft, such as the JETSKI manufactured by Kawasaki, have attained widespread use by lifeguards and rescue personnel for water rescue operations. It is common for a lifeguard to utilize such a personal watercraft to quickly respond to an emergency situation. The speed afforded by such personal watercraft often makes the difference between life and death for an accident victim. Thus, the use of such personal watercraft for water rescue operations has resulted in saving numerous lives.
However, although such personal watercraft have proven generally suitable for water rescue purposes, they possess inherent deficiencies which detract from their overall effectiveness in the marketplace. One major deficiency is the inability to easily and safely transport the victim from the pickup point to the shore. Typically the victim must be maneuvered into either a sitting or straddling position upon the personal watercraft. Such positioning of the victim is inherently time consuming and potentially detrimental to the victim's well-being, particularly in incidences of spinal injury.
As such, it would be beneficial to provide a quick and safe means for transporting accident victims from the pickup site to the shore utilizing personal watercraft.